UN Report Says Al-Qaeda Poses Long-Term Afghan Threat

June 14, 2014

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UN Report Says Al-Qaeda Poses Long-Term Afghan Threat

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A new UN Security Council report warns that Al-Qaeda networks pose a long-term security threat to Afghanistan – endangering “the region and beyond” after the NATO troops are withdrawn from Afghanistan at the end of 2014.

The report lists the Pakistan-based Al-Qaeda affiliates Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi as groups that “regularly take part in attacks against Afghan forces in eastern and southern Afghanistan.”

In northern Afghanistan, it says the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan “continues to gather strength” among Afghans of Uzbek origin and is operating in several provinces.

It also notes that Afghan security forces twice reported the presence of Chechen fighters in the provinces of Logar and Kabul in January.

The United Nations experts conclude that Al-Qaeda militants are unlikely to leave Afghanistan in the near future.

The report was prepared by a committee that monitors sanctions against the Taliban.